Differences in Communication between Men and Women

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It is a well-known fact that men and women have vastly different styles of nearly everything, communication not excluded. Women tend to be more talkative and emotional whereas men are usually reserved and not quite as open with their emotions. Many differences indeed exist between the spoken language of males and females. What about body language? Nonverbal cues are often difficult to notice and even harder to understand. Some people may not even realize when they are communicating in this sense. Like the spoken word, nonverbal communication usually varies between males and females, depending on relationships, environments, and circumstances. Learning why different genders communicate in this manner, the various ways in which they do this, and why it matters is important as it can affect several areas of one’s life.
Communication is the means by which people share and spread ideas, emotions, and information. Once again, this means is true for nonverbal communication. This is a general and universal concept. Why do opposite genders treat it so differently? One of the underlying reasons for this is the motive behind the “conversation” that is taking place. John Gray, author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, explains this by saying, “Men generally communicate to transmit information and solve specific problems, while women usually use communication to express feelings and achieve emotional intimacy”. Since nonverbal communication is often emotional and expressive, this is indicative that women are more prone to actually use nonverbal communication than men are. For example, women are more likely to use eye contact during conversation than men so as to create an emotional connection with or measure the sincerity of the pers...

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"Gender and Non-Verbal Communication." West Virginia Department of Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. .
Hutchison, Peter. "Body language: how to tell if someone likes you." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 19 Mar. 2008. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. .
Pease, Allan, and Barbara Pease. The definitive book of body language. Bantam hardcover ed. New York: Bantam Books, 2006. Print.
Thompson, Jeff. "Beyond Words." Are Man and Woman Equals in Nonverbal Communication?. Sussex Publishers, 12 Feb. 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. .

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